A Medical Device Daily

ACMI (Southborough, Massachusetts), a provider of endoscopy technologies, reported that it has created a Gynecology and Surgical Specialties (GSS) business unit that will concentrate on new opportunities in women's health and other surgical specialties.

The company also said it has realigned its sales and marketing organizations to better position it for growth.

Herald Chen, CEO of ACMI, said, “By creating GSS, we will have dedicated resources at the senior management as well as the product management and sales levels focused on developing and delivering innovative products and solutions that meet the specific needs of these specialties.“

The unit will incorporate ACMI's line of endoscopic and minimally invasive products for gynecology, general surgery and anesthesia sub-specialties, including flexible and rigid endoscopes, laryngoscopes and laparoscopic instruments, as well as fluid management and suction irrigation systems.

Boris Levin, vice president and general manager of the GSS unit, said women's health is a clinical specialty that is “clearly growing“ and that needs what he termed “focused attention in terms of products and specific solutions.“

ACMI manufactures gynecologic endoscopic products, including the Slimline product line for diagnostic and operative hysteroscopy. Levin said, “We have solid, long-term relationships with some of the top surgeons and practitioners in these areas and our goal is to maximize our potential.“ The company's goal is “to build as strong a brand name in gynecology and key surgical specialties as we currently have in urology,“ he said.

ACMI, a Fox Paine company, sells in more than 70 countries.

In another business expansion, NeoGenomics (Fort Myers, Florida) reported receiving the necessary regulatory approvals to offer flow cytometry testing services and that it has formally entered that market.

Flow cytometry uses laser-based equipment to analyze cell surface markers, so it is effective at diagnosing certain types of cancer. Flow testing also is complementary to the company's current cytogenetic and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) testing services and is generally performed on the same samples as these other tests, it said.

Bob Gasparini, NeoGenomics' president and chief scientific officer, said, “[W]e now offer a complete package of genetic-testing platforms to oncologists and pathologists. In addition to making it easier to market our services,“ estimating it could now double its per-case revenue.

The company said it could now address about $1,200 to $1,400 of revenue per case of the oncology-related tests performed for any one patient, whereas previously it only addressed about $700 per case in revenue.

NeoGenomics offers genetic and molecular diagnostic testing to the oncology and perinatology markets.

Bioject, Cronimed in supply agreement

Bioject Medical Technologies (Bedminster, New Jersey), a developer of needle-free drug delivery systems, reported that it has entered into a supply agreement with Chronimed (Minnetonka, Minnesota), a specialty pharmacy company that distributes pharmaceuticals and provides specialized patient management services for people with HIV/AIDS.

The agreement calls for the sale of Biojector 2000 (B-2000) needle-free systems and related accessories to Chronimed for distribution to patients who are using Fuzeon, an AIDS drug.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Fuzeon is the first and only fusion inhibitor for the treatment of HIV, working outside the CD4 cell block HIV from entering the cell.

Early data recently presented at the HIV DART — Frontiers in Drug Development for Antiretroviral Therapies medical conference, found that patients who were administered a single dose of Fuzeon with Bioject's B-2000 achieved equivalent drug levels in the blood compared to those administered the drug with a standard needle and syringe.